Black Sox suffer extra inning defeat to Canada

March 4, 2013

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ORIGINAL STORY  by Tony Smith in Auckland

 

Black Sox suffer extra inning defeat to Canada

NOT ENOUGH: A standout performance from big hitter Brad Rona wasn't enough to get the Black Sox past Canada.

A  Donny Hale dinger and two big Brad Rona blasts could not prevent the  Black Sox from a tiebreaker defeat to the power-hitting Canadians in a World Softball Championship thriller in Auckland. 

    The  Black Sox looked dead and buried after trailing Canada 6-4 in the bottom  of the seventh inning with two outs in a see-saw, thrill-a-minute 3hr  25minute ball game which featured five automatic home runs. 

    But  Hale - rated the best hitter in the world last year - stepped up and  slammed the ball into Rosedale Park's centrefield bleachers where the  Black Sox's family and friends celebrated a two-run game-tying miracle  hit. 

    It  was all to no avail when Brad Ezekiel hammered Canada's second home run  of the game with Bryan Abrey on base in the top of the eighth tiebreaker  when Canada scored three runs to New Zealand's one for a heartstopping 9-7 victory. 

    Rona  had earlier smashed big home runs in his own ball yard - a two-run effort  in the first inning - to give the Kiwis a 3-0 lead and repeated the  dose with a solo shot homer in the bottom of the fourth 

    Rona now has three home runs from the last two games. 

    But Canada caned the four New Zealand pitchers, mustering a mammoth 17 safe hits to New Zealand's nine. 

    New Zealand  now need to beat Argentina Tuesday night to guarantee the  top-two seeding from their section. But if Canada continue to go  unbeaten, the Black Sox could end up facing world champions Australia in  the first round of the playoffs. 

    Last  night's game started dramatically with Black Sox starting pitcher Penese  Iosefo called for an illegal delivery on the first pitch of the game  before recovering to get the first two hitters to ground out. 

    But  he got the hook after giving up back-to-back centrefield singles to Jeff  Ellsworth and Ezekiel and walking Ian Fuhrman to load the bases. 

    Pitching  coach Chubb Tangaroa wasted no time bringing on fastballer Nik Hayes,  who struck out Stephen Mullaley to get out of a jam. 

    The  Black Sox made Canada pay with three runs in the bottom of the first off  three safe hits, including Rona's second home run of the tournament. 

    Canada  pulled back a run to catcher Ryan Boland in the second inning after he  and number nine hitter Brandon Horn produced infield singles. 

    Boland  plated on Matthieu Roy's sacrifice fly but further damage was averted  by a remarkable recovery by Rona to get an out at home plate after a  wild throw by third baseman Tyron Bartorillo. 

    The  Black Sox were shut out in the bottom of the second and Hayes' cameo  role was over after he walked Ellsworth. Tangaroa brought on his third  hurler, Jeremy Manley, who immediately gave up a hit to Ezekiel, his  second of the game. 

    But a  double play after a tagged runner impeded Nathan Nukunuku's chance of  an out at first base and Manley's first strikeout got the home team out  of a hole. 

    Boland,  Horn and Roy hit back-to-back hits for Canada in the top of the fourth  to load the bases with one-down. But Manley came up with two clutch  strikeouts to fan Bryan Abrey and danger hitter Ellsworth. 

    The Rona roadshow continued when he put the ball into orbit in left-centrefield to extend the lead to 4-1. 

    But  Canada struck back with the biggest blast of the night, a towering  three-run king hit by catcher Boland over the right-field fence to tie  the ball game as Manley yielded six hits in two innings. 

    Roy  rapped a triple into right-centrefield to lead off Canada's sixth  inning and Abrey batted him in for the go-ahead run and Ryan Wolfe  scored the sixth run on a Horn hit off the recalled Iosefo. 

    But  Hale's homer with Nukunuku aboard took the game into the tiebreaker  before Canada closed it out with three runs in the tiebreaker. 

Day Four results: Pool  A: Great Britain 10 Indonesia 0, United States 10 Czech Republic 7,  Australia 9 South Africa 1, Venezuela 4 Samoa 3. Standings: Australia,  Venezuela 4 runs-0 losses, Samoa 3-1, Czech Republic 2-2, United States ,  South Africa, Great Britain 1-3, Indonesia 0-4. 

Pool  B: Argentina 11 Netherlands 1, Mexico 8 Philippines 6 (8 innings), Japan  9 Colombia 2, Canada 9 New Zealand 7. Standings: Canada 4-0, New  Zealand Argentina 3-1, Japan, Colombia, Mexico 2-2, Philippines 0-4,  Netherlands 0-4.